Q1 2025 AVMA House of Delegates Report
By Debra Nickelson, D.V.M., AAIV Delegate to the AVMA HOD
The House of Delegates for the AVMA met during the Veterinary Leadership Symposium January 9-11 in Chicago. It snowed there too, but we were inside watching it. Dr. Tim Smaha and I represent The American Association of Industry Veterinarians. During this meeting, Dr. Carolyn Luther, our President-Elect took Dr. Smaha’s place. Please send any comments or questions to AAIV at industryvet@gmail.com. As always, thank you for your support and we are here for you.
Resolutions
There were 8 resolutions brought forward to the House of Delegates for review. Such resolutions are brought to the House if a new policy is created, an existing policy needs changes, if the Board of Directors determines the policy to be pertinent or if a state or allied organization puts forth a policy.
A new policy on Rules for AVMA Officer Election Campaigns was referred back to the house advisory committee for revision and clarification, especially on guidelines for funding and social media.
Dr. Scott Dee (MN) submitted a policy on Evidence-Based Biosecurity to protect the health and welfare of humans and animals. The resolution passed after taking out “evidence-based” and recommending that AVMA develop a list of resources for veterinarians to use.
Massachusetts submitted a policy on The Role of Veterinary Medicine in Advancing Cellular Agriculture for Food Security and Animal Welfare. While delegates seemed to agree that veterinarians should be at the table and not on the table, people did not agree with some of the inflammatory language about animal agriculture. The resolution did not pass and the topic will be sent to the emerging technologies group for further work.
A revised policy on Removal of Antlers (Velveting) passed in that the AVMA discourages the practice of removing living antlers for non-therapeutic purposes. This does not apply to hardened non-viable antlers.
Some of the Allied Groups, including AAIV asked that AVMA reconsider the minimum percentage of AVMA members of the total allied organization membership in order for the allied organization to be included in the House of Delegates. This was sparked by the policy on Annual Membership Dues Increases which passed. There will be a dues increase of $20 for the year 2026 and additional dues increases from 2027-2030 at the Board’s discretion.
The revised policy on Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Veterinary Medicine passed in that these modalities should be held to the same standards as traditional medical therapies.
A new policy on License by Endorsement passed after it was made clear to affect only veterinarians and veterinary technicians (not some other mid-level practitioner group, as the delate in CO asked). This allows temporary licensure for qualified applicants until approval is finalized.
The Steering Committee on Human-Animal Interactions revised a policy on Guidelines for Pet Ownership to consider diversity, equity, inclusivity and more non-judgmental wording. It passed.
The actual resolutions are listed here:
Resolution 1 – Rules for AVMA officer election campaigns
Resolution 2 – Evidence-based biosecurity
Resolution 3 – New policy endorsing research, production, and sales of cellular agriculture animal protein products for food
Resolution 4 – Revised policy on removal of antlers (velveting)
Resolution 5 – Annual membership dues increase
Resolution 6 – Revised policy on complementary, alternative, and integrative veterinary medicine
Resolution 7 – New policy on license by endorsement
Resolution 8 – Revised policy on guidelines for pet ownership
And the reference is here
Veterinary Information Forum – topics
Supporting Rural Veterinarians
There seems to be many programs and suggestions to ensure that rural practices (including companion animals) remain an attractive and fulfilling career choice. Delegates discussed safety concerns, access to health care, partner job prospects, work life balance.
Current Status of Accreditation in Veterinary Education
Dr. David Granstrom gave a detailed presentation of the standards driven evidence based, peer reviewed process for accreditation of veterinary schools. He will retire in March as assistant executive vice president and chief accreditation and certification officer after 22 years with the AVMA.
Candidates and Elections
- Dr. Mary Ergen and Dr. Jen Quammen are running for AVMA President-Elect
- Dr. Yung-Yi Mosley was appointed to represent Immunology on the Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents
- Dr. Jennifer Glass was elected to represent private mixed practice on the Council on Veterinary Service
Please send any comments or questions to AAIV at industryvet@gmail.com. As always, thank you for your support and we are here for you.